Calculate the Vorabpauschale 2027 – for several ETFs and savings plans too
The Vorabpauschale for 2026 is the value of your fund units at the 1 January price × 70% of the 3.20% base rate, capped at the year's value increase plus distributions; units bought during the year count one twelfth per month from the purchase month. Your broker debits the tax on it from your cash account in early January 2027, unless your exemption order covers it. The calculator combines several ETFs and savings plans and shows how much cash you need.
An estimate based on your inputs, not a tax assessment. Your broker's statement is what counts.
€672.00 Vorabpauschale, but tax-free: your allowance covers it.
The amount counts as received on the first business day of the following year.
Vorabpauschale
€672.00
Tax
€0.00
Allowance left
€529.60
| BasisertragValue at start of year × 70% of the base rate (3.2% for 2026) | €672.00 |
|---|---|
| Capdoes not apply | €3,000.00 |
| Distributions | − €0.00 |
| Vorabpauschale | €672.00 |
| Partial exemption | − €201.60 |
| Sparer-Pauschbetrag | − €470.40 |
| Tax | €0.00 |
What does this mean for your real wealth?
The Vorabpauschale above holds for one fund with the values you entered. For the equity funds in your real portfolio, Planafolio Pro estimates it in advance – as an amount in euros.
See the Vorabpauschale for my ETFsPortfolio mode
Calculate the Vorabpauschale for several ETFs and savings plans
Enter each fund with its price at the start and end of the year and the number of units. Purchases during the year count pro rata – a purchase in July counts 6 of 12 months. For savings plans the calculator estimates the units from the instalment and the price path; it gets more precise with the units from your contract notes.
Value on 1 January: €10,000.00 · value at year end incl. purchases: €12,026.64
Purchases 2026- 6/12
- 5/12
- 4/12
- 3/12
- 2/12
- 1/12
Units estimated (instalment ÷ price, price moving evenly between start and end of year). Enter the units from your contract notes if you have them.
Base rate 2026: 3.2% per the federal finance ministry, charged in early January 2027. Year-end price not known yet? Enter today's price: if the fund ends the year at least 2.24% above its starting price, the exact year-end price changes nothing.
An estimate, not a tax assessment. Sales during the year, the loss offset pot and withholding tax are not included; your broker's statement is what counts.
€231.46 Vorabpauschale, but your exemption order covers it – no cash needed.
The Vorabpauschale counts as received on the first business day of 2027; that is when the broker withholds the tax.
Total Vorabpauschale
€231.46
Taxable after partial exemption
€162.02
Cash needed early January 2027
€0.00
| ETF 1Equity fund/ETF · taxable €162.02 | €231.46 |
|---|---|
| Total Vorabpauschale | €231.46 |
| Partial exemption | − €69.44 |
| Exemption order 2027 | − €162.02 |
| Capital gains tax | €0.00 |
| Solidarity surcharge | €0.00 |
| Cash needed early January 2027 | €0.00 |
What does the result mean?
The advance lump sum (Vorabpauschale) is an anticipated minimum return of accumulating funds that is taxed every year. The result shows whether and how much tax is due – or whether your saver's allowance covers it.
Model assumptions
- Base rate from the Federal Ministry of Finance letter for the chosen year; in the year of purchase the advance lump sum drops by one twelfth for each full month before the purchase.
- Tax rules as of 2026: flat tax, solidarity surcharge, church tax, partial exemption and saver's allowance as set out in law.
- A single amount or a single year is considered, without any growth beyond it.
- Portfolio mode: savings-plan units estimated (price moving evenly between start and end of year); sales during the year, the loss offset pot and the bank's rounding per fund are not included. Distributions are deducted for all units, including units bought after the payout; your bank's statement may differ here.
How the calculator works
Base return = value at the start of the year × base rate × statutory factor (Section 18(1) InvStG), capped at the value increase plus distributions; distributions are then deducted. After that, the same tax calculation as in the capital gains tax calculator applies.
More on the methodologyWorked example
Example: Vorabpauschale for an accumulating ETF
An accumulating equity ETF held for the whole year. The saver's allowance is already used up by other income here, so the example shows the amount actually withheld.
Inputs
- Value at the start of 2026€30,000
- Value at the end of the year€33,000
- Distributions during the year€0
- Fund typeEquity fund/ETF
- Unused saver's allowance€0
- Base rate 20263.2%
Calculation
| Base return (start value × base rate × 70 %) | €672.00 |
|---|---|
| Upper limit (value increase plus distributions) | €3,000.00 |
| Vorabpauschale (lower value, minus distributions) | €672.00 |
| Taxable after partial exemption (€201.60 tax-free) | €470.40 |
Result
| Tax (capital gains tax and solidarity surcharge) | €124.07 |
|---|
The tax is debited from the settlement account at the start of 2027. When you sell later, the Vorabpauschale is deducted from the gain, so it is not taxed twice.
Legal status 2026, base rate as published by the Federal Ministry of Finance. Calculated without church tax.
Worked example 2026
Savings plan from July or lump sum: the Vorabpauschale compared
Accumulating equity ETF, price on 1 January €100, up 8% by year end unless stated otherwise. Base rate 3.2% for 2026. Tax without exemption order and without church tax – the cash you would need without an allowance. Savings-plan units at an evenly rising price.
| Case | Invested | Vorabpauschale | Taxable | Tax without allowance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| €10,000 held all year, price +8% | €10,000 | €224.00 | €156.80 | €41.36 |
| €10,000 held all year, price +1% (cap applies) | €10,000 | €100.00 | €70.00 | €18.46 |
| €10,000 held all year, price −5% (losing year) | €10,000 | €0.00 | €0.00 | €0.00 |
| Lump sum €1,200 in January | €1,200 | €26.88 | €18.82 | €4.96 |
| Lump sum €1,200 in July | €1,200 | €12.92 | €9.05 | €2.38 |
| Savings plan €200 per month from July | €1,200 | €7.46 | €5.22 | €1.38 |
| Savings plan €200 per month from January | €2,400 | €28.44 | €19.90 | €5.25 |
A savings plan starting in July triggers far less Vorabpauschale than the same sum invested as a lump sum in January: each instalment only counts the months from its purchase. In a losing year there is none at all; with a small gain it is at most the value increase.
Cash account
How much cash you need in your account in January
The Vorabpauschale for 2026 counts as received on the first business day of 2027 (section 18(3) InvStG). A German broker then withholds the tax for every fund in the portfolio and debits it from the cash account.
Cash needed = Vorabpauschale of all funds, minus partial exemption and the unused exemption order, then capital gains tax, solidarity surcharge and church tax where applicable. The exemption order for 2027 counts, not what is left from 2026.
With a single accumulating equity ETF held all year and no other investment income, the full saver's allowance of €1,000 covers the Vorabpauschale for 2026 up to a portfolio value of about €63,800 on 1 January.
If the cash is not enough, the broker may collect the shortfall from another account you hold with it; otherwise it reports it to the tax office (section 44(1) EStG). So check your exemption order and cash in December.
Keep calculating: Base rate for every year · Capital gains tax calculator · Split your exemption order · Loss offset pot
As of October 20, 2026 · base rate 2026 per the finance ministry letter of January 13, 2026
Common mistakes
Mixing up start and end value
The base return is calculated from the value at the start of the year, not the end value. The advance lump sum is also capped at the actual gain; in a losing year none arises.
Ignoring the purchase month
In the purchase year the advance lump sum is reduced by one twelfth for each full month before the purchase. If you weren't invested all year, using the full year gives too high a figure.
Using the purchase price instead of the 1 January price
Even for savings-plan units the base is units × the price at the start of the year, not the amount paid. If the price rises during the year the base is smaller than the sum of instalments; if it falls, it is larger.
Not entering distributions
Distributions during the year are deducted from the advance lump sum. For distributing funds it often drops out entirely. Leaving them out shows too much tax.
Using the base rate of the wrong year
The Federal Ministry of Finance sets the base rate afresh each year. Pick the tax year you are checking, otherwise the base return is wrong.
Sources and status
Content reviewed on October 20, 2026. Legal status: 2026. The sources are official German legal texts and data and are therefore in German.
- § 18 InvStG – Vorabpauschale
- BMF-Schreiben vom 13.01.2026 – Basiszins zum 2. Januar 2026
- § 20 Abs. 9 EStG – Sparer-Pauschbetrag
- § 20 InvStG – Teilfreistellung
The calculation is a simplified estimate and does not replace tax advice.
What can I do?
Check whether your exemption order covers the advance lump sum – otherwise your bank debits the tax from your settlement account at the start of the following year.
The three rules
Why the Vorabpauschale is often smaller than feared
Three statutory limits that rules of thumb regularly drop.
No gain, no tax
The Basisertrag is capped at the difference between the first and last redemption price of the year plus distributions (section 18 InvStG). A fund that lost value triggers no Vorabpauschale at all.
Pro rata in the year of purchase
One twelfth drops off for every full month before the month of purchase. Buy in July and you pay half; buy in December and you pay one twelfth.
Exemption and allowance
Equity ETFs keep 30% of the Vorabpauschale tax-free anyway, and the rest eats into the Sparer-Pauschbetrag first. Smaller portfolios often owe nothing.
Frequently asked
Understanding the Vorabpauschale
An annual minimum taxation for funds that distribute little or nothing. Since an accumulating ETF pays out no cash that could be taxed, the state assumes a minimum return — the Basisertrag — and taxes it in advance. Amounts already taxed are deducted when you finally sell, so nothing is taxed twice.
It counts as received on the first business day of the following year, so German brokers usually debit the tax in January from the cash account. If there is not enough cash, the broker may collect the shortfall from another account you hold with it; if that is not enough either, it reports the shortfall to the tax office, which then claims the tax from you (Section 44 (1) EStG). Enough cash in the account in December avoids that detour.
3.20% for 2026. The federal finance ministry sets it every year from the yield on long-term public bonds on the first trading day of the year. Only 70% of it enters the formula.
Not with a German broker — it handles the tax for you. With a foreign broker it belongs in Anlage KAP. Keep the annual tax statement: when you eventually sell you will need the total of the Vorabpauschale amounts already taxed.
As much as the tax on the Vorabpauschale: the Vorabpauschale of all funds, minus partial exemption and the unused exemption order for 2027, taxed at 26.375% without church tax. The portfolio mode above adds this up for all ETFs and savings plans. Have the amount ready by the end of December; it is debited in early January.
Each instalment counts on its own: the base is the units bought × the 1 January price, reduced by one twelfth for every full month before the purchase month (section 18(2) InvStG). An instalment in July counts 6 of 12 months, one in December 1 of 12. That is why the first year of a savings plan usually triggers little Vorabpauschale.
No. The Basisertrag is capped at the year's value increase plus distributions. If the year-end price is below the starting price and distributions do not make up for it, the Vorabpauschale is zero. A fund in the red does not reduce another fund's Vorabpauschale, though; only losses already realised in the general loss offset pot are set against it, not losses from selling shares.
The 1 January price (redemption price at the start of the calendar year, section 18(1) InvStG), even for units you only bought during the year. Your purchase price plays no role for the Vorabpauschale; it only counts when you sell.
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